Chapter 8. Form Generator

The Form Generator is a module used to create online forms and collect data from your site visitors through these forms. Once data has been collected, Form Generator allows you to export the data into a tab delimited file. This allows you to import your data into a spreadsheet program such OpenOffice.org Calc or Microsoft Excel. Form Generator also offers some basic reporting features of it's own, but they are limited.

Some helpful things to remember when using the form generator:

  1. The Main Menu is always shown across the top while administrating the Form Generator module. This menu allows you to perform key operations in certain areas of the Form Generator. Some of these operations include: New Form, List Forms, Settings, Report, and Archive.

  2. When first entering the Form Generator the Main Menu will only show two options: New Form and List Forms. The Menu will expand it's options when a form has been selected from one of the lists of forms. Certain options are shown for saved forms and certain options shown for unsaved or unapproved forms.

  3. There are two parts to forms. Settings and Elements. A form's settings can be altered at any time in any form. They include settings like your instructions for the form, the submission message shown upon successful submission of a form, whether or not only registered users can view the form, and whether or not the form can be filled out multiple times by your users. A form's elements are the actual "questions" within your form. The elements are selected from a list of HTML elements like text field, text area, drop box, check box, radio button, and multi select. These elements can be used to ask and gather all sorts of information. A form's elements can only be edited when a form is in the unsaved state.

  4. Under List Forms, three separate lists are shown. Saved Forms are forms that have been saved and may or may not contain data. That depends on whether or not you have the form available to your site visitors and whether or not those visitors have filled out the form. Unsaved Forms are forms that are being built but haven't been fully saved. Unapproved Forms are forms that were created by a user that is designated as needing approval of their forms before they are made available to the public. Once an unsaved or unapproved form is saved, it will move to the Saved Forms list.

  5. When clicking on a form in a list, you will be viewing the form as a visitor to your site would view it. However, as an admin you will see the Main Menu at the top. From the menu you can select to perform various operations on the form you are viewing. You can always return to the form listing by clicking List Forms.

  6. Something to keep in mind when saving forms: Make sure you are positive the form is correct and ready to be viewed and filled out by your site visitors. Once a form is saved it will start collecting data. If you decide to edit the elements within that form, the data collected by the form must be cleared and archived . Hence, you reset the form when you edit it's elements. A good practice is to export the data from the form just before you edit it's elements. You can always edit a form's settings no matter which state it is in.